A careful review of the provisions of 295-B PPC reveals that the legislature has envisaged for two distinct scenarios therein: firstly, when a person willfully defiles, damages or desecrates a copy of the Holy Qur'an or an extract therefrom;

 A careful review of the provisions of 295-B PPC reveals that the legislature has envisaged for two distinct scenarios therein: firstly, when a person willfully defiles, damages or desecrates a copy of the Holy Qur'an or an extract therefrom; and secondly, when a person willfully uses a copy of the Holy Qur'an or an extract therefrom in a derogatory manner or for unlawful purposes. The punishment prescribed for any one of the acts stated therein is life imprisonment. The case in hand relates to the former scenario, wherein two essential ingredients are to be fulfilled for the offence to stand as having been constituted: first, a person needs to act out of his own will; and secondly, he must defile, damage or desecrate a copy of the Holy Qur'an or an extract therefrom.

Crl.A.597/2018 Muhammad Zafran v. The State
Mr. Justice Yahya Afridi